CVDC (BE-FR): The field trials in French-speaking Belgium at a glance (2nd part)

The field trials conducted by the Consortium de validation des compétences (CVDC), as part of the Erasmus+ project TRANSVAL-EU, have made a stopover in two other validation Centers, i.e. the validation Center for tertiary professions (Centre de validation bruxellois des métiers du tertiaire) and the validation Center for the hotel and catering industry (Centre de validation bruxellois des métiers de l’HORECA) in Brussels. As explained in a previous article, the focus of our field trials is the guidance interview that is a mandatory step in the process of validation of competences, that precedes the practical test and that can allow a better identification not only of the specific (technical) competences that the candidates need to possess in order to pass the practical test, but also of the transversal competences in connection with the task that the candidates need to perform. Our starting hypothesis is that better identifying the transversal competences might increase the candidates’ chance to pass the practical test, while they are rather implicit in the validation frameworks and not certified as such.

After a first workshop (step 1) that focused on presenting the project, its deliverables, its aim, the field trials, our starting hypothesis etc., during the 2nd step several workshops were organised and focused on identifying the transversal competences in connection with the practical tests for the occupations of receptionist and call center agent (in the validation Center for tertiary professions in Brussels). These competences were also positioned in the European Qualifications Framework. Here are some of the transversal competences identified by the practitioners that conduct the guidance interview (common for both occupations): managing and organizing activities, reacting to the unforeseen, using oral communication in one or several languages, taking professional, social and cultural norms into account, managing information.

As for the occupations of waiter/waitress, barman/barmaid, head waiter/waitress, some of the competences (common for all the three occupations) identified and positioned in the EQF by the validation and guidance practitioners of the validation Center for the hotel and catering industry in Brussels were : managing and organizing activities, reacting to the unforeseen, using oral communication in one or several languages, managing information.

In the next steps, the transversal competences that were identified and positioned in the EQF are to be addressed in the guidance interview with the candidates (and, in the case of the occupation of call center agent, a new positioning tool, including not only the specific competences, but also the transversal ones, is to be designed).

Special thanks go to the validation and guidance practitioners of the validation Center for tertiary professions and the validation Center for the hotel and catering industry in Brussels for their hard work, their energy and interest in the project, as well as for their enthusiasm for integrating the transversal competences in the guidance process.